The Accident
by detkatebeckett
Summary: Kate has exciting news for her husband, but she'll have to wait a bit before telling him
1. The Accident

**A/N: I hate asking for reviews, but if you could review telling me whether or not to continue this, that would be great. Enjoy! **

Katherine Castle stood at the stove flipping and stirring the vegetables she was in the process of cooking. She was wearing a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and one of Castle's light gray sweaters. It was much too large and baggy for her, but she felt comfortable and safe wearing his clothing. It was even faintly scented with his cologne.

She moved around the kitchen, preparing dinner. She was humming softly. To put it simply, she was ecstatic. Earlier that day she had gone to the doctor's because she was having strange bouts of nausea and dizziness, but it turned out that everything was fine. In fact, it was more than fine. She couldn't wait for her husband to come home because she had some important news for him.

She couldn't stop smiling. She looked at the clock. It read 8:30PM. Her brow furrowed momentarily. He said he'd be home by 8:00PM. He was never late. She figured that his meeting with Gina ran late. She knew how much Gina liked to talk. Her thoughts drifted back to her husband's reaction to what she was going to announce that night. They were so happy and the future would only get better.

She sat two plates on the table and then returned to the kitchen to get the necessary utensils.

The phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered.

_Is Mrs. Castle at home?_

"This is she."

_Well, Mrs. Castle, there's no easy way to say this. We're sorry to inform you that your husband has been involved in an accident._

She felt a knot tightening hard in her stomach. She grabbed her stomach as if to suppress the pain. Her heart was racing and the room was spinning. Her breathing got faster as tears started to well up in her eyes.

_Mrs. Castle? Are you there?  
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"Uh-um-y-yess. Is he okay? What happened? W-Where is he?" Kate asked quickly.

_He's at New York Presbyterian. Please, if you could just come down, we'll give you all the details._

"O-okay, thank you. I'll be right there." Kate hung up the phone quickly and scrambled around the apartment. The tears cleared from her eyes. She was intent on one thing and that was getting to the hospital, seeing her husband, and finding out that he's absolutely fine. She grabbed her coat and keys and ran out the apartment.

_At the hospital…_

Kate ran into the emergency room. "Hi, my name is Kate Castle. My husband was in an accident. His name is Richard Castle. Where is he?" She put her hand to her stomach in an effort to hold back her emotion and continue to suppress the pain of the tight knot she felt.

"He's in surgery now, but he should be out within the next hour or two. In the meantime, you can sit in the waiting room," the nurse replied.

"What happened? How bad is it?" asked Kate frantically.

"I'm not really sure m'aam. If you take a seat, I can go find a doctor that can explain everything."

"Thank you," Kate said. She walked over to a seat and sat in it. She took a deep breath. She still had her hand on her stomach; she found it to be self-soothing. In the car, she had called Martha and Alexis. She ran a hand through her hair.

She was so worried. _He has to be okay. He is okay_. She kept repeating in her mind. She couldn't lose him. In that moment, Alexis and Martha came rushing into the emergency room. They found Kate and ran over to her. As soon as she noticed the two familiar figures rushing towards her she stood up. As soon as they reached her, they shared a group hug.

"Is dad okay? What's going on?" asked Alexis.

"Darling, what happened to Richard?" asked Martha.

"I-I-I don't know. I've just got here and they're not telling me anything…" her voice trailed off as tears welled up in her eyes.

Martha leaned in and gave her another hug. This one longer and tighter. Kate hung on almost for dear life before releasing. The three women sat down in complete silence.

Then a couple of minutes later, they heard someone say, "Mrs. Castle?"

Kate sprung up out of her seat,"Yes?"

"Hi, I'm ," the man said, shaking Kate's hand.

"Hi, yes. I'm Kate. Could you please tell me what's going on with my husband?"

"You're husband was involved in a severe car accident. In fact, he's lucky to be alive. What happened was that the light turned green and as your husband accelerated forward, a truck came barreling from the left side and slammed into his car. He's currently in surgery and he's pretty banged up. He has a punctured lung and has lost a lot of blood, but he's fighting. As of now, it's pretty touch and go. Nothing is sure. We'll keep you updated though. He should be out of surgery in about an hour. For now, all you can do is wait."

"Thanks you," Kate breathed, fighting the tears that were threatening to fall.

Kate held a hand to her abdomen once more. Alexis stood up and gave her a tight hug. Kate closed her eyes and took in the love the perky teen was giving her. They sat back down.


	2. World Turned Upside Down

**A/N: Thanks for all the positive feedback! I never had so much response on a fanfic before! I hope you guys like this chapter!**

It was about a half an hour later and they were sitting there….waiting. Kate sat there replaying the mental picture she created of a truck slamming into her husband's car. _Nothing is sure_. She repeated the doctor's words in her mind. She couldn't believe this was happening. It all felt like a dream. She snuggled into Castle's large sweater that she was wearing. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. It smelled like him. She could picture him standing next to her, smiling and bright. Him saying something that would make her laugh hysterically. Him loving her. She couldn't help but think, _what if I never see him again_? That morning she had gotten into a fight with him. It was a stupid fight. He wanted her to come with him to his press conference, but she couldn't because she had to go to the doctor. She would have loved to go with him, but her symptoms were so strong that they could no longer be ignored. She held a hand to her stomach as she opened her eyes. The fight didn't matter anymore. The reality of the situation set in and she didn't like it. She sat there motionless as the hustle and bustle of the hospital spun around her.

The stress was so immense it was suffocating her. She felt it pressing up against every fiber of her being. She felt like she couldn't breathe.

She looked to her left and saw Alexis asleep, leaning against Martha who was flipping through a magazine.

She smiled softly at the sight. Martha's brow furrowed and she returned a smile.

"Kate, what's wrong?" asked Martha.

Kate stared deeply back into her eyes. Her lip quivered, as she held in her sobs. She smiled guiltily and said, "The last time I spoke to Rick, we had a fight," she looked down. Tears welled up in her eyes. Martha smiled understandingly.

"It was over the stupidest thing," she said, still intent on her hands.

"What was it about?" asked Martha, trying to comfort her.

She looked back up at Martha, "He wanted me to come with him to his press conference today, but I had a doctor's appointment. Ordinarily, I would have cancelled the appointment, but I really needed, wanted to go to the doctor. I had been feeling so strange lately, I couldn't take it anymore," she paused. After a few moments, "I should have cancelled. I should have cancelled and gone with him to the press conference. Maybe then, this wouldn't have happened." A tear streamed down her face.

"Kate, this isn't your fault. You know what would have happened if you went with him? You'd be in surgery now too, if not worse. Don't beat yourself up about it, kiddo. He'll be fine," Martha comforted.

Kate smiled. Martha narrowed her eyes slightly and examined Kate, brow furrowing. Kate returned a confused look.

"Martha, what is it?" asked Kate.

"There's just something different about you. I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something. Even now, when you're completely devastated, there's a light on your face. You've been acting differently lately, today especially. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were…" Martha's voice trailed off.

Kate's eyes widened slightly in the realization that Martha was suspicious, "If you didn't know any better, you'd say that I was what?" asked Kate, curiously.

Martha opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by the doctor.

"Mrs. Castle?"

Kate shot up, keeping her stare on Martha for a few moments before looking at the doctor.

"Mrs. Castle, your husband is just waking up from the anesthesia, he'll have quite a recovery to go through, but he'll be alright, you can come see him, but only one at a time. He's down the hall, last room on the right, so whenever you're ready."

"Thank you," Kate said as he walked away. She ran a hand through her hair as she sighed in relief.

"Alexis, why don't you go first?" Kate said.

"Are you sure?" she replied.

Kate nodded as Alexis almost sprinted to her father's room. Kate sat back down next to Martha, wondering if she was going to continue the conversation. She didn't, she simply continued flipping through the magazine. Alexis returned and then Martha went to visit her son.

Finally, it was Kate's turn to go visit Rick. Martha and Alexis went home to get some rest, considering it was past midnight.

Kate walked down the hallway, but stopped right before reaching his door. She took a deep breath. She was nervous. She knew he was alright, and that eventually things would go back to normal, but she still couldn't help but feel nervous. Nervous and scared. She was scared to see him like this.

She closed her eyes momentarily, then opened them and entered the room. She walked slowly. There he was. He was hooked up to an IV drip, an oxygen mask and a heart monitor. She could hear the slow beating of his heart, which hastened when he set his eyes on her. He smiled, and removed the oxygen mask. Tears formed in Kate's eyes as a wide smile grew on her face.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey," she replied, her voice cracking as she tried to hold back the tears.

He patted on the bed next to him, inviting her to sit down. She was hesitant. She felt as though if she touched him, she'd break him. He patted again, so she took a step closer. He could tell she was reluctant, so he extended his hand for her to take. She smiled and took his hand, which was so much larger than hers that it practically engulfed her tiny, fragile one. A tear streamed down her face.

"H-h-how are you feeling?" she asked.

"I've had better days," he sighed. Beckett laughed.

"But not too bad considering everything that happened," he paused, "Please sit down, next to me," he asked, "I'd feel a lot better."

She smiled and complied to his request. She sat down next to his hip, facing him, still holding onto his hand with her left hand. They stared deep into each other's eyes. His piercing blue eyes and her emerald green ones met, creating fireworks between the two. The smile on her face faded and she stared at their intertwined hands as she took her right hand and placed it on her stomach. She had a saddened look on her face and Castle picked up on it right away.

He saw the fatigue, worry, and sadness in her eyes. He could tell that the whole situation really stressed her out. She was still scared.

"Katie, what is it?" he asked softly, "There's something different about you. You manage to shine even when you're down. What's going on?"

She smiled, looked at him, then looked back at their hands. "It's just that…I almost lost you today. I thought I lost you. My whole world was turned upside down. I could never live without you. When I got that phone call, it was the most terrifying experience of my life. Then I thought about the fight we had, and I felt so guilty. I should have come with you, I should have cancelled my doctor's appointment and come with you, I'm sorry."

"No, it's not your fault. You'd be in the same position as me if you came. Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad you didn't come," Castle admitted.

Kate smiled and looked into Castle's eyes.

He continued, "And besides, I shouldn't have pushed. I saw how awful you'd been feeling the past few days. You _needed_ to go to the doctor, you didn't _need_ to go to my press conference."

They both smiled at each other. After a few moments, Castle said, "That reminds me, what did he say?"

"Who, babe?" asked Kate.

"The doctor. What did the doctor say?" Castle asked concernedly.

"Oh," she laughed. Castle loved the sight. Her smile lit up his whole world.

"Well, I guess everything's okay if you're smiling," he grinned at her.

"Everything's fine. In fact, more than fine," she beamed.

Castle gave her a confused look, "Thank god. You had me worried there for a minute…wait, what do you mean, 'more than fine?'"

"Rick," she said smiling and gazing deep into his eyes. He smiled in anticipation of what she had to say.

"Rick," she laughed nervously, momentarily breaking eye contact before regaining it, "I'm pregnant." She bit her lip and arched her eyebrows not sure as to how he would react.

She heard the sound of his beating heart grow faster and faster as a huge smile grew on his face. He squeezed her hand.

He pulled her closer so he could hug her. It hurt to hug her, but he didn't care. He loved her so much. She pulled back into a sitting position and watched the happiness continue to grow on her husband's face.

"Kate, I-I…wow…I wasn't expecting this at all…..I love you," he whispered.

"I know, I wasn't expecting it either. I'm just glad that you're happy," she beamed.

"That explains it then," he said, still smiling.

"Explains what?"

"You're glowing," he smiled tightly.

This caused her smile to grow even wider. It was true. She was absolutely beaming with joy. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at her husband.

"Come here," he said, moving over so there was room for her to lay next to him. She smiled as she laid down next to him. He put his arm around her and she cuddled into his side. Her head rested on the intersection of his shoulder and his chest. They were both still smiling. She closed her eyes. He watched her. He watched the slow rise and fall of her chest. He eyed her, looking up and down her body. She was so beautiful. He stared at her stomach. It was now holding life and he was mesmerized by that. He tightened his grip around her in a protective and possessive manner. She was his. He lived for her and he loved her and she loved him back. She was his happiness, his worry, his love, his everything. He stared at her until he drifted off into a deep sleep.


End file.
